The EU AI Act: State Of Play

In April 2021, the European Commission proposed a draft regulation for Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems used in the EU single market, dubbed the AI Act. This opened one of the most politicized regulatory debates since GDPR, and the AI Act promises to be as wide-ranging. In this conversation, we'll take stock of the current thinking about governing AI in the EU, 1.5 year into the debate.

Nicolas Moës is an economist by training focused on the impact of Artificial Intelligence on geopolitics, the economy and industry. He is the Director for European AI Governance at The Future Society, where he studies and monitors European developments in the legislative framework surrounding AI. His current focus is on the EU AI Act and the various governance mechanisms needed to enforce it cost-effectively.

Nicolas is also involved in AI standardisation efforts, as a member of the International Standardisation Organization’s SC42 and CEN-CENELEC JTC 21 committees on Artificial Intelligence, as a Belgian representative. Nicolas is also an expert at OECD.AI Policy Observatory in the Working Group on Classification & Risk. Prior to The Future Society, he worked at the Brussels-based economic policy think-tank Bruegel on EU technology, AI and innovation policy. His publications have focused on the impact of AI & automation, though he has carried out research on global trade & investments, EU-China relations and transatlantic partnerships.

Nicolas completed his Masters degree (M.Phil.) in Economics at the University of Oxford with a thesis on institutional engineering for resolving the tragedy of the commons in global contexts. He is a native French-speaker fluent in English and persists in learning Dutch and Mandarin.